Tottenham Hotspur face a major decision over the future of manager Antonio Conte.
The Italian tactician stunned the footballing world after he spoke to reporters in the wake of Spurs’ 3-3 draw against bottom-of-the-table Southampton last weekend and appeared to slam the team, as well as chairman Daniel Levy.
“Don’t play for something important,” Conte said, as quoted by TalkSPORT. “They don’t want to play under pressure. They don’t want to play under stress.
“Tottenham’s story is this. Twenty years there is the owner and they never won something but why? The fault is only for the club, or for every manager that stay here. I have seen the managers that Tottenham had on the bench. You risk to disrupt the figure of the manager and to protect the other situation in every moment.
“Until now I try to hide the situation but now, no, because I repeat I don’t want to see what I’ve seen today because this is unacceptable and also unacceptable for the fans.”
The former Inter Milan and Chelsea manager’s shocking rant has left his future with the Lilywhites desperately uncertain, with several reports eluding to his impending dismissal.
Sky Sports reported on Monday morning that the Spurs squad are expecting the 53-year-old to be relieved of his duties before the start of next season.
However, despite Conte’s remarkable press conference, former Aston Villa and Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore believes there could be a hidden reason why Levy may bide his time with the Italian.
“What he has done is outrageous really,” Collymore said in an exclusive interview.
“He, as the manager, is there to calm tension, not add to it. He’s fueling the fire and he’s almost talking himself out of a job and I wonder if Spurs have a case to turn around and say ‘fine, you’re gone!’ – what he has come out and said may not be a breach of his contract, but he has arguably brought the club into disrepute.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a clause in Conte’s contract that will make Daniel Levy think twice about sacking him while the side are inside the Premier League’s top four. There may well be an active clause in his contract which means his compensation is a lot higher if the club sack him now as opposed to if they were fifth or lower.”
What do you think Spurs should do with Conte? – Sack him now, wait or keep hold of him? – Let us know in the comments below.